A Lesson in Obedience
by TinyAngel3
Summary: [AU] [SS TE] Cold-hearted Prince Syaoran is always bored. That is, until he meets Princess Sakura, who is under a curse forcing her to obey any command given to her. Needless to say, he's not bored anymore...
1. Syaoran: Arrangements

**Syaoran **

Boredom was a term I used often. Everything bored me. Horses bored me. Castles bored me. Being a prince bored me. Acting like a prince bored me. Some call me cold hearted or aloof (And don't make innocent faces, I HEARD you. Especially YOU, Eriol) but in all honesty, life in general just bored me. There was absolutely nothing I found that could hold my interest long enough for it to quell my eternal state of boredom.

Until I met her.

Or, more precisely, until I was engaged to be married to her. Arranged by our parents of course who take the term 'nosey meddlers' to an all time high.

But I can't say that anything really happened until I found out about 'the curse'. And, boy, what a fun day that was.

**__**

The morning before I first learned of Princess Sakura's existence was actually pretty routine. I woke up to the beautiful and joyous sight of...

... Meiling screaming that I was oversleeping and that if I didn't wake up soon she's call 'Hiiragazawa-kun' to give me CPR. And there was no way I was having Hiiragazawa's lips anywhere near mine for any reason whatsoever, especially with his whole 'kawaii descendant' thing that already makes him sound fruity, but I'm getting off track.

"Syaoran, get up!" This was about the point where a nice and soft (Meaning hard and un-fluffed) pillow smacked me in the face, courtesy of Meiling. I sat up in bed and glared at her, but having known me since birth, she knew I wouldn't actually do anything to her and walked away with an arrogant, "You've got five minutes before I send up Hiiragazawa-kun.", before she was gone.

That was certainly enough to keep me from falling back asleep. Stupid Meiling.

I sighed and rolled out of bed, heading to the washroom. It was important to Mother that I be well-groomed and hygienic at all times, in case any princess or other royal people decided to stop by unexpectedly. And, being the kind and wondrous princely son that I am, I didn't mention that most of our honored guests probably walked around their own castles naked.

Following my bad luck for that morning, I ran into none other than Hiiragazawa in the hallway after I'd showered, groomed, and transformed myself from tired, bed-head plagued, Syaoran Li to Prince Syaoran, Future Ruler Of The Li Clan ("And all things cotton-y!" Meiling would always joke, whenever I felt depressed about my regal status. It was so restricting.).

"Ah, kawaii descendant." I quite maturely resisted the urge to strangle him and merely twitched as he spoke in that smooth, calmly, let-down-your-guard-so-I-can-bite-you voice of his. "I see you're up bright and early this morning, as usual."

"Don't mock me, Hiiragazawa. I'm late and we both know it." He merely smiled that charming smile that had his millions (Can you imagine?) of female (And some male) suitors going crazy over him. Personally, I thought they all had very bad taste. Anything that could like Hiiragazawa as an actual person had very bad taste. 

"Mock you? Syaoran, I'm hurt!" I rolled my eyes at his expression of fake pain. The mischievous twinkle in his eyes gave him away every time. I shoved past him, intent on grabbing Meiling downstairs for a quick spar match to awaken my muscles before I ran into Mother, but he stopped me when his newly acquired sing-songy tone chorused, "Your mother wants to see you."

"She what?" I hoped I wasn't hearing right because hearing that Mother wanted to see me was like hearing that I had to go clean out the lion's cage while it was still in there and had yet to be fed. Every muscle in my body was on red alert. Guess I wouldn't need a spar session with Meiling after all.

"Your. Mother. Her. Royal. Highness. Yelan. Li. Wants. To. See. You. In. Her. Chambers. In. Exactly...." He looked at his watch. "Oh, wait. She wanted to see you exactly ten minutes ago."

"WHAT?!" Mother would kill me for being late. "And you tell me this now?!"

"Better late than never." Ha! HE wasn't the one who was going to lose a head for every nanosecond he was late. I dashed off without answering Hiiragazawa, nearly knocking over nine servants and a very angry Meiling who was storming out of the kitchens muttering something dark in Chinese. I skidded to a halt in front of Mother's chamber doors, pausing to catch my breath, before knocking.

"Come in, Xiao Lang. I've been expecting you." Translation: You're late. I can and will attack at any given moment. 

I timidly headed into the room. Well, as timidly as one can while maintaining the stoic expression one had been trained to have since birth. Mother was sitting down on one of the many fluffy cushions that adorned her room along with the gold, the beads, the carpets, rugs, tapestries... Mother was all about extravagance. Extravagance and image are the two main elements to remember with royalty, she always said. The royal are always extravagant and worried about their public image. 

"Hiiragazawa-san," the -san only added because Mother hated to hear me bad-mouthing Hiiragazawa. "Said you wished to see me?"

A strange look appeared in her eyes as she smiled. "Ah, yes. I have great news."

Translation: It's good news for me, bad news for you, but you're already in trouble so just agree that it's a good idea and go complain to Meiling later.

Bearing this in mind, I raised an eyebrow. "Which is...?"

"You're getting married."

...

...

An ever-intelligent, "What?" came out through my lips as I stared blankly at Mother. Her smile widened as she did the same annoying thing Hiiragazawa had done. I swear, those two were identical!

"You. My. Son. Prince. Xiao. Lang. Future. Leader. Of. The. Li. Clan. Are. Getting. Married." 

...

....

She had to be kidding. "To whom, may I ask?"

"The lovely, smart, and independent Princess Sakura of Japan." Translation: Some loud-mouthed, opinionated girl with an attitude problem who will probably make your life hell for the next... Century, but who looks very good with you and therefore will help you gain even more of the public's approval. Insert sly indication of a desire for grandchildren.

"And I suppose the fact that I don't want to get married until I'm dead is of no meaning in this arrangement?" 

"Absolutely none." No translation. Side note: Ho ho ho ho ho!

I sighed. "So, when do I meat the girl of my nightmares?"

Mother smiled. "Tomorrow afternoon. A carriage will take you, Meiling, and Eriol over to Princess Sakura's castle, where you will be residing until the wedding. Remember to be kind and courteous. Act like a prince. No snide remarks. Don't let Meiling corrupt you. I have a feeling she won't take to Sakura right away. Don't let her push her opinions on you. Whether you like or dislike Sakura will not matter when the two of you are saying 'I do' in six months."

Translation: Blah, blah, blah. Ho ho ho ho ho! Blah. Moo. Oink.

"Yes, Mother."

"Good boy. Now go pack your bags. Meiling and Eriol have already been informed." I remembered Meiling's colorful words from earlier, now realizing what she was so angry about. She was quite possessive of me. Hearing that, not only was I engaged to marry another girl that she didn't know, but was moving into her castle for the next six months, wouldn't have made her happy at all. She probably hadn't heard she was coming along, too. I feared for the safety of this Sakura girl already.

"Yes, Mother." I stood up and left the chambers, nearly crashing into Hiiragazawa on the way out. 

"Getting a little clumsy, kawaii descendant?" He asked, his eyes getting wide and innocent when I gave him a death glare.

"You knew about this, didn't you?" I accused. Eriol had a way of knowing about things before they happened and not being courteous enough to inform the rest of us. Sometimes he even played with us like puppets to ensure that things happened the way he wanted them to.

His eyes remained wide, though no longer innocent. "Possibly."

"And you're just going to let me get married off to some bimbo?"

An amused smile grazed his face. "I must remember to ask you at the wedding if you still think of young Sakura as a 'bimbo'. I must be sure to ask Sakura-san as well."

I narrowed my eyes. He was such a smug, arrogant, little--

"Hiiragazawa, stop bothering Li-kun before I am forced to remove one of your lungs. The old fashioned painful way." Interjected Meiling before I could tell Hiiragazawa off. She stood beside me, narrowing her own two ruby eyes at the boy, who merely sent a smile her way. Thankfully, Meiling was NOT among Eriol's suitors, so the smile further infuriated her instead of making her go weak in the knees. "Don't even try charming your way out of my wrath! Hell hath no fury like a Meiling scorned, didn't you know?"

I sneaked away as Meiling began what I'd wanted to do: Tell Hiiragazawa off. I began heading out to the grounds, hoping to sneak away into the village and get a break from the royal life for a bit.

I had the feeling that my life was going to get even more hectic.

Sometimes, it really sucks to be right.


	2. Sakura: First Imperessions

**Author's Note:**  For those who were asking, yes, I did get this idea from Ella Enchanted.  I LOVE that book!  And it's a movie now!  A movie I haven't seen, yet, but still!  Okay, individual replies since I'm sugar-high right now:

**Afza-Chan:**  Get up off your knees; your begging has paid off!  Lol.  I'm eating a pixie stick so don't mind if I just start rambling.  I have a tendency to do that.  And I drew this really adorable picture yesterday of this girl with her hair blowing in the wind.  At least, I thought it was adorable.  I didn't show anybody else.  And I just woke up like half-an-hour ago.  That's me.  Mrs. Sleep-Till-Two-In-The-Afternoon.  Heh.  Hope you enjoy the chapter.

**ScarleT RoSe5:  **I'm glad you like it.  This story's kinda been spinning around in my head for a bit ever since the Ella Enchanted movie came out and before I saw the movie I thought 'Hey, you've got to read the book again first' so I did.  It was so hard deciding whether to make this a Sailor Moon fic about Serena and Darien, a Rurouni Kenshin fic about Kaoru and Kenshin, or more specifically Kenshin-Battousai since rurouni Kenshin would NEVER take advantage of 'Kaoru-dono', a Yu Yu Hakusho fic about Hiei and Botan, or a Card Captor Sakura fic.  THEN I couldn't decide whether to make it Sakura and Syaoran or Tomoyo and Eriol.  I think I picked the best choice, don't you?  And Tomoyo/Eriol is still in this fic anyway!

**AnonymousT:**  Déjà vu is so fun.  I got déjà vu this one time when I was like… Wait, now I can't remember!  --;;;;; Oh well.  I have selective memory anyway.  Thank you for reading my story and for adding me to your Author Alert.  I do feel so honored!  bows  Lol.  Can't make any loud noises, huh?  Late night review?  I know how you feel, pal.  I'm up late at night constantly.  On the weekends that is.  Thanks for reading and I hope you like the chapter!

**Cimsonskies:**  I'm going to make it BIG?  Really?  Oh I would really love that!  I love to write.  It's like my dream to write a best seller someday and have everybody read it.  Then I would go back to my current's school's ten year reunion and be like 'IN YOUR FACE, MICKEL, JAMES, ADAM, JOHN, FRANK, etc!  I MADE IT BIG!  sticks tongue out at all of them in an immature fashion then goes and steals all the food on the snack bar table'.  Lol.  Yeah, exactly like that.  Thank you for reading.

**Sweetest-Angel:  **Thank you for reading.  I'm glad you like the story.  I didn't expect to get so many reviews for just one chapter.  I was like 'whoa' when I signed on and say like 'You've Got 13 new messages' and it didn't just stop at thirteen!  Thanks for being one of them and I hope you like the chapter.  I personally do, although it may be a little OOC of Sakura to kick someone in the balls .

**Fleur137:**  Thank you!  And it'll get even funnier when Syaoran finds out that she's controlled.  sings  Chain reactions, chain reactions.  Do do do do do.  Hope you like the chapter and hope you review again!  But, then again, what story writer doesn't hope for reviews?  sings AGAIN  All I want for Christmas is reviews!  Oooooh, baby!  ignores the howling cats  

**AnimeObsessionFantasy:  **I'm glad you thought so.  Syaoran-chan just thought it necessary that the reader understand that his mother had secret meanings to everything she said.  Lol.  He didn't want you all to be lulled into a false sense of security!  Right, Syao-chan?  Eriol:  He's not here.  Me:  Where is he then?  Eriol:  smile  With his mother.  Me:  O.O  He's a goner…

**Sailorgirl686:  **Yeah, I know.  It's like one of my favorite books.  That's where I got this idea from.   Thought it'd be really funny and stuff.  I never thought I'd get this many reviews for it though.  Well, I'm glad you liked it enough to review and I hope you like this chapter, too.  I have absolutely no plan for this story, just a general idea.  I've found that I write better that way.  

**Liljane69:  **WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!  I am SO sorry!  I can't believe that I did that!  ;; and would you believe that Eriol HIRAGIZAWA is my FAVORITE character in ALL of CCS world?  And I spelled his name wrong?  ;:  I'm SORRY Eriol-kun!  Eriol:  It's okay.  Really.  Just don't do it again.    Me:  I won't.  Thank you for correcting me!  I'll fix it in the first chapter when I get the chance.

**Maru:  **I hope this will be interesting and yeah, Ella Enchanted was my main inspiration for this fic.  Well, that and this Inuyasha fic called Entrapment which is based on the same EE idea.  I hope you like the chapter and thanks for reviewing for the fic.  It makes me so smiley and happy to see reviews when I open my AOL inbox.  It makes me day.  goes all starry eyed.  Hint hint.  Nudge nudge

**Yume Rinku:**  Haha!  I will and I am.  Right here.  Your review made me laugh.  You know what would be really cool?  If you typed all those 'SHOW!'s at the speed of light by accident and then when you finished, you discovered that you'd typed 567, 588, 903,257, 684, 324, 896 'SHOW!'s by accident?  I would find that hilarious!  Or is that just me?  

**JsPaulina:**  Blah blah blah Thank you for your review blah blah blah.  Lol.  My sister just like kicked my grandmother out of the chair she was sitting in.  Don't get any wrong ideas.  My sister's one and she's going to be two next month, but still.  She's a little brat who ALWAYS has to get her way.  AH!  I'm rambling.  Hope you like the chapter.  I'll shut up now.

**Psychicbunny452:**  Are you serious?  I can tell you, once upon a long time ago, I would try to do that and it would suck so horribly.  So I went on a mini-break type thing from writing because, in my opinion, the best kind of story is a funny romance so I wanted to write one, but I couldn't get the funny part down.  I'm glad I'm getting it this time around!  Lol.  Thanks for your review.

**Tracy-kin:  **Lol.  I got your hints.  Thanks for that 'mature' comment.  I can't tell you how many times I've been called immature.  Since like the fifth grade, a zillion!  IN YOUR FACE YOU PEOPLES WHO CALLED ME IMMATURE!  sticks her tongue out at them    Lol.  Okay, maybe I am just a little bit immature.  But, hey, I love being the way that I am.  Lol.

**Wake-Robin:   **Thank you.  This is my update-y thing.  And only what two to three days after my last update.  Heh.  That's a record for me.  Poor I Wish is on hiatus though.  The readers of that story must be so disappointed in me.  And then I'm still working on other fics because I used to have like four up before FF.Net took them down.  I have this Soujiro-Misao AU fic coming up and then an Inuyasha-Kagome, Miroku-Sango AU fic.  I love to multi-task, I guess.  

**SS43v3r****:**  Me is glad you like-y my ficcy.  Lol.  Thanks for reviewing.  I hope you check out any of my other fics too although it's safe to guess from your penname that you mostly like Sakura/Syaoran.  Heh, and to think this fic was almost centered on Tomoyo and Eriol instead.  Lol.  Hope you like the chapter and that you review again!

**SaKuRaKiNoMoTo:**  Hey there, was that a hidden advertisement for you fic in that review I spotted, hmmm?  Lol.  Not that I mind or anything.  Here, I'll advertise for you:  **_EVERYBODY GO AND READKAWII-CHERRYBLOSSOM-SAKU'S FIC FINDING MY WAY_**.  Lol.  See, I make a good advertiser!    Thanks for reviewing and I hope you like the chapter.  I sure liked writing it.

**Kura-chan:**  Your penname reminds me of Bakura all of a sudden.  Lol.  Thank you.  I am so honored to receive a review from the wonderful, fabulous, talented, perfect you.  I bow down to you WFTP-ness.  I'm glad you like my story and I hope you review again.  I live for reader feedback.  Well, that and sugar.  

**SyaoranzCherryBlossom:**  The wait is over.  The next chapter is here!  And they have met!  And they… Don't like each other.  But that's to be expected, ne?  Lol.  Now all you have to do is wait for Syao-chan to discover Sakura-chan's secret.  Oh, and you'll have to wait for Eriol and Tomoyo to start sticking their matchmaking noses into it.  Can't have a story with Tomoyo's matchmaking and her 'Ho ho ho's, now can we?  Lol.

**Suzu:**  They have met!  trumpets and drums sound as confetti rains down upon the people of the world  The prince and princess have met!  It was hate at first sight!  the confetti, drums, and trumpets stop as the crowd goes 'Huh'  What?  Did you expect them to fall in love right away?  What kind of story is that?  Psssh.  Lol.  

**FanficPixie:**  If you like this plot then you should definitely go read Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine.  That IS where I got the idea from, after all.  It's a really good book.  I've read it before, but then the movie came out so I read it again and lo and behold, I got a fanfic out of it.  Go me!  Woooo!  Glad you liked the chapter, hope you like this one, and thanks for reviewing.  Hey, just because I'm in a rambling mood, doesn't mean I can't give out the customary reader-reply.  Lol.

**Kawaii Bunnii:**  Oh yeah.  Syaoran just wants you to know that there is nothing safe and innocent about his mother.  He's in there right now with the lion as a matter of fact.  Well, not in this chapter seeing as he's busy being put in pain by Sakura, but, hey, so's life.  Heh.  You'll see what I mean when you read on.  mysterious horror movie music

**Heykyra13:**  Wah!  My first reviewer!  Thank you thank you thank you thank you!  I'm glad you liked it.  I hate being conventional, can you tell?    I hope you like this chapter too and I hope I maintained that 'speaking to the reader' thing.  You know, I hadn't even noticed that I did that until you pointed it out.  Lol.  Oh well.  I'm not known for noticing things.  Eh.

Thanks to everybody who reviewed and for those who haven't… What are you waiting for?  The Age of the Dawn of the Apple Rulers?  You'll be waiting a long time, people.  Me and the Apple Rulers aren't strong enough to take over the world yet.

**Sakura**

My great-grandmother wasn't exactly a genius.  I mean, it was her who got this stupid curse invoked on our family in the first place.  And, if that wasn't unfair enough, it's only on the female side.  Why couldn't I have been born a boy?  In any case, if my great-grandmother hadn't decided that she wanted to marry the lover of one of the most vindictive witches in the country, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess.

     But she did and we are.

     The instant great-grandmother married great-grandfather, the witch appeared at the ceremony and cursed her with the most terrible, horrible, evil, vile, cruel... You get the point.  Even years after hearing my late mother tell the story, I can still remember the spell that did this.

     _"You think it's fun_

_      You little bitch_

_     To steal the lover_

_     Of a with_

_     I'll show you fun_

_     And so I say_

_     Every command you hear_

_    You must obey."_

     So, basically, if anybody says a command, like "Go to sleep" or "Pick up the dishes", I have to do it.  If I don't I get this unbearable headache that will make me pass out if it gets bad enough, and even if I do pass out (I've tested this.  Having this curse on me has made me quite rebellious) I'll still feel the pain.  I've been more or less safe so far as the only people who know about my curse are Father, my elder brother Touya, and my best friend and personal servant, Tomoyo.

     And I probably would have continued on being safe... If I hadn't met him.

     "Sakura-chan!"  I looked up from where I was picking cherry blossoms in the fields (Mother would always find this funny.  "My little Cherry Blossom is picking cherry blossoms[1]!").  They were my favorite flowers, no matter how vain or conceited that makes me sound.  Tomoyo loved them, too, actually.  Tomoyo seemed to love anything having to do with me.  Me, included.

     "Yes, Tomoyo?"  I asked, facing her.  She had an excited look on her face and her eyes were gleaming mischievously.  "Okay, what's happened?  What did you do?"

     "I didn't do anything, Sakura-chan."  She said sweetly.  "However, there's something you must do now."

     "Which is...?"

     "Come greet our guests!"  What guests?  Not that I could have refused the offer anyway considering that 'Come greet our guests' was a command so when she tugged my arm and started dragging me out of the field, I could do nothing to resist.  I wasn't left clueless for long.  Tomoyo-chan filled me in as we walked.  "It's the most wonderful thing.  They just pulled up in a carriage in the courtyard.  There was a chestnut haired prince with this really serious look on his face and a girl with black hair and red eyes who looked really annoyed and she was yelling at this really cute navy haired guy with grayish eyes and glasses!"  Dreamy sigh from Tomoyo.  "He really is cute, Sakura-chan.  From what I could hear from the other servants and especially from the way your brother was shouting at Fujitaka-san, you're getting married."

     I froze.  "What?"

     "That's why they're here.  Prince Syaoran is here to spend the next six months in your company and then the two of you are getting married."  I blinked.  She wasn't serious.  I waited for her to say something like "I got you, Sakura-chan!" and start laughing, but she didn't.  Then I started panicking.

     "I can't get married!  I'm too young to get married!  I won't!  I refuse!  I won't marry except for love and I refuse to fall in love!  I'll become a spinster and... And spin Sters!  I don't even know what a ster is, but I'll spin one if it means I don't have to get married!"

     "Oh calm down Sakura-chan."  I calmed down.  Stupid curse.  "It'll be fine.  Let's go meet them!"

     I'm doomed.

    "There you are, monster.  Don't you know you have company?"  I turned to see Touya standing in the hallway along with Yukito, a boy from the village who Touya had taken a liking to and invited to live in the castle.  They were best friends.  Yukito-san smiled at me I felt my cheeks heat up immediately.  Okay, maybe I had more-than-friendly feelings for Yukito-san.  Another reason not to get married!  What if he suddenly decided to come to my chambers and say something like:

     "Sakura-chan, I've been so blind all these years!  How could I not have noticed what a beautiful and free-spirited woman you've become?  Please, forgive me and make me the happiest man alive by becoming my wife!"

     …. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

     "We were on our way to see them right now, Touya."  Tomoyo said cheerfully.  "We've got to hurry up, Sakura."

     "Never mind.  They're right here."  Father stepped up from behind Touya and Yukito, producing the three people Tomoyo-chan had told me about.  I eyed them all warily.  The black-haired girl was giving me a piercing death glare, the navy-haired boy looked amused and winked at Tomoyo, making her blush, and as for the brown-haired one... Well, I couldn't tell anything from his gaze.  It was so cold.  I already didn't like him.  "Sakura, this is Meiling Li."  The girl nodded her head in my direction.  "Eriol Hiiragazawa."  The navy-haired boy winked at me this time.  "And Prince Syaoran Li, your fiancée."

     What, was I supposed to be pleased to meet him?  Either way, I put a wide smile on my face and walked up to Prince Li. I was going to be stuck with him for six months.  I might as well try to be civil. "It's a pleasure to have you here, Syaoran-san.  I'm Sakura."

     He gave me a glare.  "You're way too happy about this.  Are they paying you or something?"

     "Iie [2], but..."  Well, excuse me for trying to be nice.  I dropped my smile and glared right back at the prince.  Father noticed the obvious tension between us and laughed nervously.

     "We'll just leave you two to get acquainted."  He started to usher everyone down the hallway.  The girl, called Meiling, was screeching something about not leaving that 'green-eyed bimbo' alone with her 'Syaoran-chan' because I might try and 'put moves on him'.  Oh please.  The only moves I wanted to put on 'Syaoran-chan' was a push out the door and into the lake.  

     Note to self:  Give Prince Syaoran a tour of the lake.

     "You seem very rude."  I said slowly, still determined to be cheerful and polite despite that fact.  His glare didn't soften one bit.

     "I usually am when I'm forced to be in the company of people I hate."  

     "You don't even know me.  How can you hate me already?"

     "It's quite simple actually.  What, are you a fan of the 'there's good in everyone' philosophy?"  He said it in a mocking tone, so I didn't tell him that I actually was.  I couldn't see the good in him, however, so maybe there WASN'T good in EVERYONE.

     "And what philosophy do you bow to, Syaoran-san?  Tactless For Dummies?"  We glared at each other again.  Okay, so this first meeting was not going well. It didn't really matter to me, since I didn't want to marry that baka [3] in the first place, but getting stuck with him for the rest of my life wasn't very appealing.  

     "It's no wonder our parents had to arrange this marriage.  I can't believe that you are capable of getting a husband on your own."   My glare intensified, quite a feat since I wasn't exactly a glaring-type of person.  In fact, in Tomoyo's own words "There's no point in you trying to glare at someone, Sakura-chan.  Your eyes are just so big and green and innocent and your face is just so kawaii that you just end up looking adorable instead of threatening!"  And that was supposed to be a compliment given while I was busy glaring at her for eating the last rice ball.

     "Jerk."

     "Shut up."  I glared at him again, opening my mouth to tell him off when I felt a headache coming on and immediately re-closed it.  Shut up was a direct command.  I was stuck.  So I gave him my most effective glare to make up for it.  "Cat got your tongue, Princess?"

     I glared even more, unable to tell him what a jerk he was being.  He raised an eyebrow.  "That was easier than I thought.  Whatever.  I'm going to go find Meiling.  Have a nice day, princess."

     A nice day for me would consist of getting to kick him where the sun doesn't shine.  And he just directly told me to have a nice day...

     "OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"  

     I coughed, hiding a laugh, and looked down at the prince currently curled up in a ball on the floor, moaning in agony.  I'm sorry, did I hurt you?  I'd ask you if you were alright if you hadn't told me to shut up.  I grinned as I turned away from the pained prince and walked gracefully down the hallway in search of Tomoyo.

     Maybe this arrangement wouldn't be so bad after all.

**End Notes:**

[1]  For those of you who don't know, Sakura means "Cherry Blossom".

[2]  Iie:  No

[3]  Baka:  idiot.


	3. Syaoran: Secrets

**Syaoran**

     I really, really, really, really can't stand that Princess.

     I've barely even been here for a few hours and already she's a bitch.  I had to lie on that cold ground for hours (Okay, like ten minutes, really, but the pain made it seem longer...) until Meiling and Eriol came by and while Eriol was busy smiling that 'I'm going to laugh at you later but I'm too polite to do so now' smile, Meiling helped me up like the wonderful cousin that she is and even joined me in plotting against the princess.

     I can't IMAGINE why Mother doesn't like her.

     I think the whole clinging problem she had when we were younger might have had something to do with it.  And the competitiveness.  And the loud, brash manner.  And the way she acted more like a little boy than a young princess.

     Oh well.

     I spent most of my first day at Princess Sakura's castle hanging around the gardens with Meiling and pretending to be either Eriol or the Princess and pretending to die until they called us in for dinner.

     A very... Eventful time, indeed.

     "Please pass the potatoes, Prince Syaoran."  I handed the bowl off to that girl, Tammy or something... Er... Right... Tomoyo, yeah, while shooting a sideways glance at Princess Sakura.  She was making a mountain out of her potatoes.  Which wasn't very odd since I'd already shaped mine into a little volcano and was just waiting for the gravy to come around so I could make it explode. 

     The odd thing was, she hadn't said a word.

     Actually, I hadn't heard a peep from her since our argument earlier.  Not that I was complaining.  I liked her better when she wasn't saying anything.  It was just odd, is all.

     "How come you're not talking, Princess?"  I said as politely as I could, but it came out sounding taunting instead.  Oh well.  I didn't really want to be polite to the princess anyway.

     She shot me a fierce glare and flicked a pea at me.  Oh, yeah, real mature.  I stuck my tongue out at her and went back to my food.  Not for long though.  This was really bothering me.  "Why AREN'T you talking?"

     Another glare.  Silence.

     Tomoyo looked between me and Sakura, then looked down at her food.  "Sakura, say something."

     "You are an ass, Prince Syaoran."  Was the first thing out of her mouth.  Wow, I could just feel the love.

     "How come you talk when she tells you to?  I'm a Prince.  You should listen to me."  She seemed to consider this a moment before she glared again.

     "I hate you.  Why would I listen to you?"

     "Don't you be mean to my, Syaoran-chan!"  Mailing shouted, flicking a pea at Sakura.  Sakura flicked the pea right back until the two were engaged in a very fierce, very mature, pea fight.  Eriol was chuckling quietly and concentrating on his food.  Tomoyo and I were getting showered in peas, but none were touching him.  Stupid magical powers and whatnot.  Some people get all the luck.

     "Could you two cut it out?"  I said, annoyed.  "Stop!"

     Sakura stopped immediately and Meiling stopped soon after, realizing that Sakura wasn't fighting back anymore.  And as rude and loud as she is, she wasn't one to fight an unarmed player.  Honor was something that was pounded into us at an early age.

     The dinner started getting quiet again, but I was still a little put off.  If she hated me, why'd she listen when I told her to stop?  She was so weird.  And such a hypocrite.  I hated that.

     Sakura finished off her dinner (With no peas I might add since they were all either in my lap or in Meiling's hair) and excused herself, disappearing out of the dining hall.  I scooped what was left of my potatoes discreetly onto Eriol's plate and excused myself as well.  There was something not right about that princess.

     I followed her as she hurried down the hallways and out of the castle, through the gardens, down a path and towards a field.  Boy did she run fast for a girl.  Upon closer inspection of the field, I realized that it was full of cherry blossoms.  Heh.  How conceited.

     The princess sat down underneath a cherry blossom tree, closing her eyes and relaxing herself.  I must admit, although Meiling would probably kill me for saying it, she did look pretty.  I mean, with the wind blowing through her short, light brown hair like that and the flushed tone to her skin from running... Okay, she didn't look pretty.  She looked BEAUTIFUL.

     Of course, just because she's beautiful didn't mean I wanted to marry her.

     She must have sensed my presence because her eyes flew open and immediately narrowed when they locked on me.  "Can i help you?"

     "There are numerous ways you could.  None of them are why I followed you."  For some reason, the princess turned bright red.  I mentally smirked.  I can't imagine why.

     "You pervert!"  She screamed.

     "Why princess,"  I said in innocence.  "I was merely suggesting that you cancel the wedding.  Shows what YOU have on YOUR mind, missy."

     "Wh... You... Shut up!"  She shouted, turning even more red than before.  I smirked visibly, sitting down next to her.  She was fun.  And easily embarrassed.  Such a great combination.

     "Relax, princess.  I just wanted to know where you were headed."  I motioned towards the cherry blossoms.  "Getting a little conceited in your old age?"

     "I'm sixteen!  What old age am I getting into?"

     "You're avoiding the question."

     "You wouldn't understand."

     "Yes I would.  Tell me."  There was a long pause during which the princess kept wincing and rubbing her temples before she finally sighed in irritation and looked at me, looking slightly frustrated and angry.

     "My mom planted these trees.  I feel closer to her when I'm here, alright?"  I blinked.  Whatever reason I was expecting, it wasn't that.  I raised and eyebrow.

     "You know, you make it really hard to hate you when you say stuff like that."

     "I don't care whether you hate me or not, Prince Syaoran.  I'll ALWAYS hate YOU." 

     "Now that's not nice."

     "Since when do YOU care about being nice?"

     "Sheesh, princess... And you wonder why this marriage was ARRANGED."

     "I have a name, you know." 

     "I know."

     "It's Sakura."

     "I know that, too."

     "So why don't you just call me by name?"

     "Because it signifies familiarity and in some cases, friendship.  Neither of which I wish to have with you."  She rolled her eyes and looked away, glaring at the ground.  I vaguely wondered whether she still felt closer to her mom while I was here, then decided I didn't care.  If I started caring, I might actually start liking her, and if THAT happened, all hell would break loose.  Especially when Meiling found out.

     "Are you always this cold?"  She asked at last.  Yes.  Always have been, always will be.  You try growing up with the leaders of the Li Clan and see if you're still all smiles, princess.

     "What do you care?"

     "Well you made me tell you about my Mom.  I figured you owed me."

     "I don't owe you anything.  Leave me alone."  I said, folding my arms.  I raised an eyebrow as she stood up immediately and started walking away.  "Hey, where are you going?!"

     "You just told me to leave you alone, didn't you?"  She asked, looking at me over her shoulder. 

     "You said earlier that you didn't listen to people you hate.  Either you've decided to go back on that, or you like me now."

     "You wish."

     I stared at her, leaning back against the tree.  "So, if I said 'Sakura, bang your head against this tree' you wouldn't do it?"

     "Nope."

     "How about if I said 'Sakura, stand on one foot'."

     "Wouldn't do it."

     "'Sakura, eat a blade of grass'?"  I saw her shake her head, then saw her hand twitch.  Ooookay.  Something was definitely wrong here.  Her hand twitched again and she started to bend down, then seemed to realize what she was doing and stood straight again.  Then her hand twitched again.  "Are you having a panic attack?"

     "..... N..o..."  She grounded out, seemingly having her teeth gritted together.

     "What's wrong with you?"  I was actually starting to get worried.... Whoa... Tell the papers.  I got up and walked over to her, grabbing by the shoulders and staring into her very twitchy face.  "Tell me what's wrong."

     ".... Grass.... Have to... Eat..." 

     "What?  What are you talking about?"

    "Told me... To eat... Grass...."

    "I did..."  I said slowly, trying to figure out what the hell she was talking about.  Or what kind of drug she was taking.

     "Have to... Do it..."

     "What do you mean you have to do it?  Stop twitching!"  She stopped at once...  And started shaking instead.  She looked like she was going to pass out.

     "Let me go!"  She screamed, pushing away from me and collapsing on the floor, grabbing a fistful of grass and stuffing a piece into her mouth.  She stopped shaking at once, then sat up, spitting the grass out like it was poison.  Which it probably was.

     I meanwhile was trying to figure out what that was all about.  Then something occurred to me.  "Sakura..."

     "What?"  She asked, testily, still spitting out grass.

     "Smack yourself." 

     "WHAT?!"  But even as she shouted it, her hand was reaching up.  I blinked when a loud SMACK! could be heard and she rubbed her smarting cheek.

     "Why are you listening to whatever I say?"

     "No reason..."

     "Tell me why you're listening to whatever I say."

     "Because I have to."  Now that was vivid and descriptive.  Nothing vague about that.

     "Tell me EXACTLY why you're listening to whatever I say."

     "Damn you."  She said in a low voice.  "It's a stupid family curse.  I have to listen to any command anyone gives me."

     "Any command?"  I said, a smile growing on my face.

     "Any command."  She echoed half-heartedly.  I plopped down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

     "Sakura, I have a feeling you and I are going to be great friends from now on."


	4. Sakura: Obedience Really Bites

**Author's Note: **Whoa, 108 reviews? For three chapters? For me? I'm so touched! I'm so honored! I'm not worthy! throws a party for the reviewers for reviewing Shout-outs to xXSyaoranLuverPinayXx for being my 100th reviewer! Thanks to all!

**Sakura**

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Have you ever woken up one morning and really, really wished with all your heart and SOUL that the events of the day before were just a really bad dream and that today would just be like every other day?

Then, you actually start your day and, well, no such luck.

Yeah, me too.

It's kind of weird, actually.

Prince Syaoran discovered my obedience curse so you'd think the first thing he'd do would be to order me to hop on one foot and sing 'All Hail Prince Syaoran' or order me to speak in nothing but Chinese for a year, even though I don't even KNOW Chinese (God knows I don't know what Meiling is screaming at me half the time) or, even worse, order me to like him!

That would be enough to give me nightmares.

But, no, he called me his new friend, smiled, then walked back to the castle and didn't say another word to me after that. I didn't understand how his mind worked.

I'd understand soon enough.

"Meiling, have you, by any chance, met my new friend, Sakura?" You know, I had very interesting shoes. I was staring at them. I knew what I'd see if I looked up: Meiling giving me a murderous glare that promised something like crabs in my bed or slugs in my soup. That's why I was staring at my shoes. They were interesting. All pink and… High-heeled. "Stop staring at the ground, Sakura."

"I'm not." I sing-songed in an annoyed voice. This only served to make Prince Pain-In-The-Ass amused.

"Then stop looking down."

I paused, holding out for as long as I could, then slowly brought my head upward to look at Meiling and noticed that it was both her and Hiiragazawa-kun there. Hiiragazawa-kun was frowning.

"Syaoran, why is Lady Sakura listening to whatever you say?" He asked in a serious voice. That was new. I'd never heard Hiiragazawa-kun sound serious. Then again, I'd only known him for about two and a half days.

"Oh," Baka [1] Li-chan said gleefully, grinning first at me, then at Meiling. "She has to listen to whatev—Oomph!"

"Uh, no reason. We've got a… Um… Bet going on… Yeah. A bet that says if I listen to Li-kun for a whole month, then he'll—" Drop dead. "—Er... Teach me how to… Ride a horse…" I said while keeping my hand firmly clasped on Li-kun's mouth. He looked at me, his eyes practically dancing in amusement—

--Right before he bit down. Hard.

"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEE!" I screeched, grabbing my poor injured hand and nursing it gently. "THAT HURT, YOU BAKA! BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA!!!!!!!!!"

"Now, now, Princess. That's not how we play nice." He said, grinning and wrapping and arm around my shoulders. Huh, I'd show him how to play nice. I wonder where I could find some crabs to shove in his pants.

Now there's a beautiful picture.

"Why is she smirking like that?" Meiling asked, her eyes narrowed at me. What? She acted as if I WANTED that baka touching me. Puh-lease. I'd rather eat a dung beetle than remain in his presence any longer than necessary.

"Oh, you know, it's because she wants me." What a conceited, pompous, arrogant—

"No I don't."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do _not_."

"Do _too_."

"Do—"

"Stop arguing with me, Sakura-chan." I immediately stopped and glared at him.

"Don't call me Sakura-chan. Only friends and relatives get to call me that and _you_ are _neither_."

He only smirked. "I love you, too, Bride-to-be. I can just see it now: You and me, ruling our combined kingdoms. You washing my clothes, making dinner, cleaning the castle. Why, with you around, there'd be no need for servants."

"Do I look like Cinderella to you?"

"No… She was prettier." Oh, wow, a fairy tale character is prettier than me. He really knew how to lay on the compliments, didn't he?

"Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome." He said smiling.

"I hate to break up your little flirting session—" Meiling growled sarcastically.

"Now, now, Meiling. If the fiancées want to flirt, then let it be. It'll help for when they fall madly in love and get married!" I gave Hiiragazawa-kun a death glare, which he returned in the form of a smile.

"Syaoran-chan is_ mine_ until then. You got that, Princess?" She glared at me. I rolled my eyes.

"_Trust _me, Meiling, I want him about as much as I want a blood transfusion [2]."

"Are you saying there's something _wrong_ with him?" Sheesh, there was no pleasing this girl!

"If I start now I can finish by our wedding day." Hiiragazawa-kun chuckled while Meiling and Li-kun both glared at me.

"You've got quite a feisty little wife-to-be, there, my kawaii descendant."

"Oh, don't I know it." His glare turned into an amused smirk. "Feisty, but obedient. Isn't that right, Sakura-_chan_?"

"…."

There was a pause during which Li-baka must have gotten bored because, "Sakura, get down on your hands and knees."

To save myself the embarrassment of having a spaz attack that would end up with me on the floor anyway, I did as told, giving Li a murderous glare. He smirked.

"Now act like a dog."

Act like a dog, huh? Note to self: Brush mouth out twenty times later. With toothpaste AND soap.

I barked a few times, then sniffed the air and, smirking, growled at Li-baka. Then, slowly, I advanced on him, pounced, and bit his leg. Hard. Ooooh, I'd need two bars of soap and five tubes of toothpaste later. Yuck!

"AAAAAAAAAAAH! GET OFF ME, YOU IDIOT!" There were a lot of idiots in this hallway. He didn't specify which one he was talking to. I bit down harder. "SAKURA GET THE HELL OFF ME!"

Obediently, I released him, then sat down and blinked up at him as if I hadn't just caused him extreme pain. But, boy was I happy.

"Bad dog." He glared, growling as if he were a dog himself. "Sakura, bang your head against the wall five times for punishment."

I got up off my hands and knees and headed past him to the wall, kicking him in the exact same spot I'd just bit him for good measure, enjoying the scream that caused before lightly banging my head against the wall five times as told. I didn't even get a headache.

"Sakura, bang your head against the wall hard enough to give yourself a goddamn concussion!"

"Syaoran, isn't that being a bit—" Hiiragazawa injected.

"Sakura-chan, come here!" Saved by the Tomoyo! I bolted away from the wall and raced over to Tomoyo, who had just turned the corner.

"I need to talk to you. Now." I hissed in her ear. She nodded, shooting a smile at Hiiragazawa-kun (Ugh, who smiles right back. Young love at its best.) before turning around and walking with me down the hall and into an empty chamber.

"What's wrong?" She asked immediately after I'd locked the door and pressed up against it to keep anybody from coming in.

"Li-baka knows about my curse!"

"No!" Tomoyo's eyes widened and she clapped a hand to her mouth. "How did_ that_ happen?"

"I don't know! We were in the garden yesterday and he told me to leave him alone so I was but he stopped me and asked me why I was listening to him now and not before and then he started saying stuff like 'So, if I said.. Go do this or that or whatever, you wouldn't do it?' and it slowly winded down to 'Sakura, eat a blade of grass.' And I TRIED not to, really I did, but the curse nearly killed me so I had to do it and… Yeah… He figured it out…" Tomoyo, who had been listening to this all intently, now stood, her face set in determination.

"Oh, don't worry Sakura-chan. I'll figure something out. You've been stuck with this curse for long enough."

"Ain't that the truth."

"But, until then… Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"Don't follow any orders that Syaoran Li gives you." I blinked. Once. Twice. Then I smiled.

"Thank you!" I said, hugging her tightly. She laughed and hugged me back.

"No problem. It's all in the way you work it. Now, the reason I came to get you is because it's time for lunch. Then Fujitaka-san is sending you and Li-kun out into the village so you two can get acquainted."

"We're already acquainted. I think he needs a long trip alone. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?" Tomoyo laughed.

"That's what they say. Now, come on. I have a kawaii outfit ready. You'll love it!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door. What did it matter what I wore? It's not like I had to impress this Prince of the Spoiled Baka-heads, right? In fact, I was planning on kicking him out of the carriage and into the nearest muddy ditch the instant we were out of the castle grounds.

And then having the horse stomp on him for good measure.

[1]Baka: **Idiot **(Last time I'm saying it, then you're on your own.)****

[2] On a random note,yuketsu o shinaide kudasai means** "I don't want a blood transfusion" **in Japanese. Or so the book said.****


	5. Syaoran: A Visit To The Village

**Author's Note: **I love the reader feedback! I love you guys! tear You're all so wonderful! tear tear Ahem, anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing the last chapter and I hope you like this one! But, before that, here are a few reader replies to **fanficpixie**, **lunalovegood129**, **fleur137**,** missk**, and **tracy-kin**. If you are none of those people, feel free to just skip over the following long paragraph.****

**Fanficpixie and missk**, trust me, Tomoyo would have loved to give that order, but it's the only one that Sakura can't listen to. Otherwise, what would be the point of the spell? They've tried that already, believe me. You'll learn that in this chapter. And I have read Define Normal. Great book. I love Jaz! **lunalovegood129**, I always swear. Just not around my parents. Shhhh! **fleur137**, my book called The Whole You (A Guide To Life): Creativity by Jeannie Kim. It said, and I quote 'Teach yourself how to say a random sentence in a new language.... Be sure to pick one not offered at your school (Hungarian, Swahili, Danish) and then mystify all around you when you toss off yuketsu o shinaide kudasai ("I don't want a blood transfusion" in Japanese). **tracy-kin**, Sakura does get her revenge in this chapter. And her parents (Or just her Dad since her mother died) are determined to marry them and join China and Japan. Of course they're not going to believe all of the bad things Sakura says about Syaoran. They'll chalk it up to pre-wedding jitters. rolls eyes

And, nobody probably cares, but I've been accepted into the SetoxJoey fan listing! Weeee!

And to make up for this super long author's note (That probably no one read --) I'll make this chapter long, too. On with the story!

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**Syaoran**

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Princess Sakura is, I believe, trying to murder me. And I can't imagine why.

Okay, maybe I have some sort of clue. I mean, ordering her to bang her head against the wall hard enough to get a concussion WAS a bit harsh, even for me the rumored 'Ice Prince', complete with air quotations. But, really, the giant bruise on my leg from her stupid teeth just reassured me that she deserved it.

So did the fact that all the way into town she kept trying to shove me out of the carriage inconspicuously. I didn't even bother ordering her not to do it. I'd followed her and Tomoyo and I knew she wouldn't listen.

Besides, we'd left the castle before I could tell Meiling to order her to listen to me. I couldn't ask anybody else; I didn't want them to get suspicious and find out about Sakura's secret. I was the only one allowed to blackmail her.

Only me. Hm, mother always did say I had control problems. Maybe she was right.

.

.

.

"Found any flaws in our countryside yet, Oh Royal Spoiled Brat?" Sakura commented snidely, glancing at me. I eyed her carefully. She may have been dressed like an angel – Shimmering white kimono with fake angel wings in the back and a golden sheen to her hair that closely resembled a light halo – But I did have to keep my guard up. I'd let it down while I stared at the swans in the pool and I'd nearly joined them.

I only managed to drag myself back into the carriage in time.

"No, Young Princess Brat, but I have found some major flaws in your attitude so shut it already." She smirked, something that looked out of place on her angelic place. Okay, not only was that corny (Angelic face?), untrue (Sakura? Angelic? Ha!), and stupid (I mean, really, face and place rhyme), but it very unlike me. We'll just pretend I never said it. Okay, self-delusion begins… Now.

"Make me." She taunted, knowing I could and knowing that I knew that she knew that I couldn't and that I knew that she knew that I knew that she knew that I couldn't and… Oh, my brain hurts.

I sighed irritated and called to the carriage driver, "How long till I can get out of this thing?"

"About a half-an-hour, your lordship." I sighed again, staring out the window.

"Do I really present such bad company?" Sakura asked after a while of silence – Silence I was enjoying, thank you very much. I glowered at her.

"Yes."

"No, I don't. I'm very agreeable."

"Ha, yeah right."

"No, really. I usually am anyway. You're the one giving me a reason not to be." I glowered her again. As if I was in the mood to be civil to a spoiled brat princess with a curse complex and an attitude problem. I scowled and looked out the window again. "Are you always this broody?"

"Yes."

Pause. "Is it true that your country refers to you as the quote 'Ice Prince' unquote?" What was with the freaking questions?

"Yes, Princess." I ground out.

"Why?"

"Because I am a frozen block of ice taking on a human form because I want to seduce and rape you, then take over your kingdom, move it to Alaska, and rejoice with my ice brethren." She blinked.

"Oh. Okay." Rolling my eyes as she slid to the other end of the seat, I looked out the window again. We were passing some beautiful green mountains that were in the distance, on the other side of a huge, crystal lake. I wondered if her village had any special names for her. No doubt they were all good. She was so prissy it made me sick.

"Prince Syaoran?" Sakura said, again breaking the blissfully period without her incessant talking that I had been enjoying.

"What?"

"Why do you hate me so much?" I stared out the window again. What an idiot.

"Because it's easier. Now, could you do me a favor and not talk for the rest of the ride?" Of course, she didn't listen.

"Why is it easier?"

"Because it is. Now, please, SHUT UP!" She 'eep'ed and fell silent. Thank the Lord! Smirking in satisfaction, I continued admiring her kingdom until we started rolling past houses. There were people ushering out of the houses and waving at the carriage as if they were used to it.

There were children playing in the yards, jumping in mud puddles… It reminded me of when I was littler and snuck out to play in the mud instead of training to be future ruler of the Li Clan. Even I had had something of a childhood. I suppose I would have gone crazy without it.

The carriage came to a stop in the village square and I stepped out, dutifully helping Princess Sakura out, then watching as she tripped. It wasn't my fault she wasn't watching my foot. She glared at me, but I merely looked innocent and helped her up, watching her dust off her kimono while the commoners ran up.

"Princess Sakura! Welcome!'

"Would you like some more flowers, princess?"

"A new dress?"

"Princess, please, accept this gift!"

I rolled my eyes and held back, observing silently, not the least bit surprised when some girls swooned and said, "Oh, he's dreamy. The silent type, you know? Who is he?"

"I heard that that's Princess Sakura's fiancée." I looked over at the three girls. One had chestnut hair in two braided pigtails at the side of her head and brown eyes. One had straight, chin-length brown hair, glasses, and she also had brown eyes. The last girl had curly brown hair that curled around her chin and brown eyes. They looked vaguely familiar. Very vaguely.

"That's Rika, Naoko, and Chiharu, my friends from the village." Sakura whispered to me.

"You have friends?" I asked, not even the least bit interested in the Princess's personal life, but asking anyway because I was already getting bored. She glared at me. "What? It's a plausible question."

She huffed and turned away from me, running up to the three girls and they started giggling and chatting like idiots. One of the four I already knew to be an idiot. Maybe it was contagious.

A boy slid up beside me. He had spiky pale brownish hair and a mischievous grin on his face. "Hello there. You're Princess Sakura's fiancée?"

"Unfortunately." I muttered. The boy laughed.

"Unfortunately indeed. Sakura's family goes back a long way, you know. In ancient times, they used to lure princes here with their beauty and charm and then eat them—"

"Don't believe him!" The pig-tailed girl said, grabbing the boy's ear. "Yamazaki is a liar!"

"Hahahahaha!" the boy laughed as he was dragged away.

"And, besides, it's black widow spiders that eat their husbands, Yamazaki." Glasses girl told him. The boy just kept laughing. Funny, I had no problem believing that Sakura wanted to eat me.

Non-perversely of course.

"Are you ready to go yet, Princess?" I asked, yawning. This was so boring! I could have more fun moping around in my own castle in my own country instead of here with a princess who grated my nerves and her giggly friends. I could even be back at the castle bugging Hiiragazawa or that Touya guy that seems to hate me so much or maybe even running away from that Yukito kid. He gives me this weird kind of tingly feeling that totally says RUN!

"You're so impatient. I'm talking to my friends. Go entertain yourself somewhere. Hopefully, you'll get lost and we'll never hear from you again." Touché. I turned away from her and her airheads and started walking down the streets, wondering where the heck I was going. I wasn't familiar with Sakura's kingdom. I could easily get lost.

Hey, at least I'd be doing the princess a favor and myself one seeing as I'd never see her again. This has its benefits.

* * *

**Brief Normal POV Essential for the Story So No Complaints**

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"Are you sure this is going to work?" Tomoyo asked tentatively, watching as Eriol began working some sort of magic. They were in an empty chamber where Eriol had taken up residence and, through some effort (Aka huge puppy dog eyes, flirting, and ahem promises) Tomoyo had gotten Eriol to agree to help her remove Sakura's curse.

"This? This is nothing. This won't remove it. I do, however, have a book back at the Li castle that might tell us something so I'm summoning it here." Eriol explained in that calm voice of his. The magic flared once, twice, before a huge leather bound book dropped heavily onto the floor with a THUMP.

Tomoyo grabbed it, flipping through it and looking at all the spells and incantations contained inside. Half of it made no sense to her since it was in Latin, but the other half, the part about curses and hexes, had been translated into English by someone, Tomoyo suspected, was Eriol.

"There it is!" Tomoyo pointed to the page headed 'Obedience Curse', scanning the section until she came to 'How to Remove the Obedience Curse'. "Oh no."

"What?" Eriol peeked over her shoulder, reading the page. "Heh, I knew it wouldn't be easy."

"How can you be so calm?! She could get hurt."

"She could get hurt already. There are a lot of dangerous things people could make her do without realizing they're making her do it." Eriol pointed out. Tomoyo had to give in; As usual, he was right. "I think," He continued. "That we should send Prince Syaoran with her. For protection."

"How do we even know that this witch is alive? Or that she'll give them the potion in the first place? And how is—"Eriol silenced her with a finger to her lips.

"You worry too much. Witches are immortal for one, good or evil, unless you burn them. And I'm sure Prince Syaoran can think of a way. He is quite sneaky, you know. Now," Eriol took the book from her hands and headed for the doorway. "We have to present this to Fujitaka-san and get his permission to send Li-kun and Sakura-san on this little adventure. I'm sure," There was a twinkle in the boy's eye as he looked at her. "They may come back a little closer than we sent them out."

Tomoyo smiled brightly. "Sounds like a plan. Let's do it."


	6. Sakura: Taking Baths Is Dangerous

**Author's Note: **Now, I'm not going to lie to all of you. This chapter is extremely crappy. It's boring and one of the worst chapters I've ever written. It's really only a filler chapter to get the story moving along. I tried to add as much humor as I could, but I don't think I pulled it off.

But anyway, it's necessary and the real action starts next chapter. I'm sorry for making you wait so long, then giving you a horrible chapter, but, well, summer homework, parents, etc, came into the deal and… Yeah. Anyway, try to drag your eyes through this chapter and sit tight for the next one where the real fun begins.

Oh, and thanks for all of the reviews! And sorry for taking so long to update! You guys keep me going!

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**.:Sakura:.**

Prince Syaoran is a real jerk. I mean, I have the decency to worry and go looking for the guy and what does he do? Jump out from an alley and drag me into it, kicking and screaming, until I realized it was just him. While he got his giggles over my pale-faced fear, I huffed and stormed back to the carriage.

He followed, of course, although I'd much have preferred to leave him in the village and let him get eaten by rats. But I suppose we can't always get what we want.

However, Prince Syaoran would be the least of my problems once I got back to the castle.

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"What?!" I screamed, practically steaming. This could not be happening. No way. I mean, sure, I wanted that stupid curse removed from me as soon as possible, but this was too much. This was horrible, terrible, evil, cruel, stupid, dangerous and… And… With HIM?! Why HIM?! Why couldn't I go with Hiiragazawa-san? Why couldn't I go with Tomoyo-chan? Or evil MELING-SAN would be better! But… But… HIM?!

Father only raised an amused eyebrow when I voiced all of this and waved it away with a disinterested hand. "Now, now, Sakura, don't you want that curse lifted?"

"I do, Dad, but—"

"But nothing, squirt. As much as I don't approve of you going ANYWHERE with that gaki—" A pause in which Touya and Li-baka exchanged glares. What those two had against each other, I'll never know. Actually, I didn't care either. "If this is the only way to get rid of the curse, then you should do it."

"But Dad, Clow Mountain is so far away, and you're making me go there to see some witch, who might be dead, with Li-baka, who'll probably shove me off a cliff and call it an accident?!" I protested, eyeing Li dubiously. He was smirking, probably imagining doing that in his sick, twisted head.

Dad rubbed his temples, sinking down further on his thrown and gesturing to Touya and Yukito to leave. I flushed as Yukito passed by me. What? WHAT?! He was… Nice, okay?!

Once they were gone, he turned to look at me and the other occupants of the room: Hiiragazawa-san, Tomoyo-chan, and Prince Syaoran. His eyes were fixed solely on me, however.

"Listen, Sakura—" I listened. "—that curse you have is very dangerous. If anybody outside those we trust were to find out, they could exploit it. They could make you do horrible things. They could even order you to kill your friends and family and you wouldn't have a choice. Do you want that?" I, of course, gulped and shook my head, paling as those images flashed through my mind. "That's what I thought. Now, you and Syaoran are to take two horses from the stable and leave the castle tonight, heading for Clow Mountain. Syaoran, I'm not sure exactly what you'll find out there, but it's sure to be dangerous. Equip yourself accordingly."

"Yes, sir." Goody-goody hypocrite. 

"And Sakura, I expect and injuries you and Syaoran-san return with not to be of each other's doing, understood?"

"Yes, Dad." I murmured, glaring at Syaoran out of the corner of my eye. He glared right back.

"Then, hurry and get ready. The sun will set soon and I don't want too many people to see you leave. They'd ask questions we don't need to deal with until you're a safe enough distance away." I turned to leave, pausing as Dad called out absently, "Oh, and Sakura, do be sure to listen to Syaoran. I don't want you being stubborn and getting hurt." 

Oh no. No, no, no.

Syaoran smiled like a five-year-old at Christmas. "You heard your father, Sakura-chan. Listen to Syaoran."

I groaned. Listen to Syaoran. Listen to Syaoran.

Doomed.

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We were packed, set, and ready to leave by the time the sun had set and the stars were dotting the sky. Prince Syaoran was saddling the horses and I... Well, I was glaring daggers at Hiiragazawa-san over Tomoyo-chan's shoulder while she hugged me. He just gave me that 'I'm amused because I know something you don't know and won't know for quite some time now' look he always has on and smiled. Glare. Smile. Glare. Smile.

Was it me or did he remind me a lot of Dad? And Yukito. And... Stupid Hiiragazawa-san.

Tomoyo-chan finally let me go and I look a deep breath, screaming and nearly falling over when I felt something warm on my shoulder, only to flip around and see a chuckling Syaoran-baka and our horses.

"That was not funny!"

"Say it was funny, Sakura-chan."

"It was funny." I said automatically, then narrowed my eyes at him, grabbing my horse's reins out of his hands and huffing while he laughed. I hated him. I hated him so much it burned. And I don't hate anybody. But Syaoran... He was... Was... AH!

Tomoyo coughed. "Come on, Li-san. If you and Sakura-chan spend all your time fighting, you'll never reach Clow Mountain and then how will you be able to convince the witch to take the curse off Sakura-chan?"

Syaoran shrugged. "We'll figure that out when we get there. That is, if Sakura ever stops being afraid of her horse."

Huffing angrily, I lifted myself onto the horse (Whom I'd affectionately named K'tannaqui) and sat side-saddle in true princess fashion. Even though it was extremely uncomfortable. And I was better riding the normal way. Li raised an impressed eyebrow and mounted his own horse, looking from Tomoyo to Eriol and back again as they exchanged amused glances.

"If I find out that either of you planned this for whatever reason, I'll kill you both and feed your lifeless bodies to the carnivorous snails." He said as if he were telling them that he didn't like his soup cold. I rolled my eyes. Carnivorous snails. Pfft.

"Goodbye Sakura-chan! Take care! Don't let Li-san get you down! No making out!"

"TOMOYO-CHAN!"

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"Five."

"Ten."

"Five."

"Fifteen."

"Ten."

"Twenty."

"Ten."

"Twenty."

"Five." 

"Fifteen."

"Ten."

"Done." Syaoran and I shook hands as we finally came to an agreement on how many minutes he'd be waiting on guard duty while I took my bath. As he put it so eloquently two minutes later:

"Take longer than ten minutes, Sakura-chan, and I'm going to bed, leaving you to be eaten, maimed, murdered, chopped, sliced, diced, and otherwise mutilated and leaving me with a clear conscience – At least until I get back to the castle."

So comforting. It wasn't my fault that young ladies needed their baths and there just happened to be a hot spring just outside the village. I sank myself down into the water with a pleased sigh, quickly calling, "If you peek on me Syaoran Li, I swear I'll make so that you can never have children!"

"Peek on you? Oh please. I have no desire to lose my lunch."

"Hmph. I don't know what I was thinking. The Ice Prince never peeks on anyone, does he?"

"Oh, so now you WANT me to peek?"

"What? What?! No!"

"Then shut up and take your bath, princess."

Why that… I huffed angrily and sank myself even further into the water, dipping my head under quickly and washing out my hair. Usually Tomoyo was the one to do this. She loved my hair (And always told me so). She did I great job I imagined since the silky tendrils flowed through my fingers just as easily as water.

I was done with my bath in just six minutes.

I got out of the water and tied the towel even tighter around myself, eyeing the bushes carefully before calling out, "Syaoran?"

No answer. That jerk fell asleep on duty! What if I'd been kidnapped! Or maimed! Or—

…He'd throw a party. Baka.

I sighed angrily and was about to locate my clothes and storm back into camp to have a word or two with that baka prince when I felt a pair of hands close around my mouth to keep me from screaming and I was pulled up against someone's chest.

"Don't scream."

I gulped. Well, now I couldn't even if I wanted to!

I didn't get much time to brood on it anyway because the next moment I smelled something weird as the guy pressed a cloth to my nose and my vision swirled before fading into blackness.

My last thought before I lost consciousness was: _Syaoran… I'm going to **kill** you!_


End file.
